Rainbow trotted along next to her son and husband as they went their usual route into the city. Today, however, she wouldn't be heading back to the Castrum. She had gotten ahead on her paperwork the previous day after getting 'In the Zone' as some would put it. In addition, Depressi's school was having a career day, and the teacher had sent a flyer home with him to let her know. And so, with little better to do, she had donned her full regalia, including medals, and was going to be one of the first presenters.

"How do you wear all of that and still be able to walk?", Castus joked on the way down from the Castrum.

She just smiled back, saying, "It's all a lot lighter than it looks. 'Sides, I've been wearing this stuff for years. After a certain point, it becomes like a second skin almost."

Finally, the three of them arrived at the point where they separated off. "Well, this is where I head off. See you at the party tonight." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, adding, "Love you."

"You too, Cocks-for-brains", she replied.

As he walked off, her son grabbed onto the plume of her helmet, pulling it while flapping his wings furiously. "Come on, mom! I don't want to be late!"

"Easy, easy, Sport", she said. "I'm coming."

She then took off, flying with him to the school. It was vastly different from the small, one-room red building of Ponyville Elementary. It was a large, boxy building in typical Pryhan style with sloped tile roofs, white plaster walls, and small windows. A playground sat in the center of the school, the courtyard filled with grass, a few lunch tables, and a rack of sports equipment.

"Alright, Depressi. I'll go check-in, and you head to your class. See you in a bit." From there, the two of them went in separate directions. Her to go check in at the office, and him to head to his class.

Rainbow looked at the piece of parchment again, wanting to make sure she had the right room number. When she was certain, she opened the door, walking into the class. On her left sat the teacher's desk, and a whiteboard behind it. To her right sat the rest of the room; several rows of desks, a few bookshelves, and a table with a small, weasel-like rodent in it (Depressi later told her it was called an Opossum, that the class had named Red-eye.)

"Ah, you're here," the teacher, a caragor of about fifty years with a pair of spectacles said. "Class, we are very fortunate to be having Praetor Rainbow Dash as our speaker today. Say high, everyone."

"Hello, Praetor Rainbow Dash," The class droned out, some in boredom, some in genuine interest. As they did so, she spotted her son; he sat in the middle seat of the front row.

"Hey, kids! I'm glad I could be here." She cleared her throat and pulled out a bit of parchment she had written down on earlier. "Now, I understand that you all ask questions, and I answer them. So, ask away! Yes, you in the third row."

The student in question, a Bighorn, said, "What are you?"

"Samual!", the teacher said. "That's rude!"

"It's fine. To answer your question, I am what's called a Pegasus; Pegasi for plural. Like my son, up there in the first row. We're like Terrans, except we have, obviously, wings. We also have a few other abilities that I won't be getting into. Now, any other questions? You there, Terran in the back row."

"What is that thing tucked under your wing called?", she asked.

Lifting it up from under her wing, Rainbow showed it to the class as she answered. "This is what's called a Swagger Stick. It's a symbol of rank, as well as sometimes a disciplinary tool. However, mostly it's just something to show off with. Now, anyone else? You there!"

"How'd you get your cutie mark?" the Demigryph asked, pointing at the helmet-and-wing mark that poked out just past her armor pteryges.

"I got it at the siege of Pryha," she said, earning several 'oohs' and 'cools' from the students. "As the mercenaries and raiders were attacking the Caesars reinforcements, the original defenders had begun to flee back to the city. I rallied them, urging them to fight on. I led them on a counterattack on the enemy flank, and we won the day." After the class calmed down a bit, she said, "Now, please keep the remaining questions for me about the Imperial Army."

"That was awesome, mom!", Depressi practically screamed when he and Rainbow left school after several hours. After her presentation, where some of the students actually asked legitimate questions about the Army, she had gone off into the teacher's lounge while the school day wrapped up. In there, she struck up a chat with a few of the other presenters, including the father of one of Depressi's friends, a Fisher named Shark Bait.

"Well, better than office work." The two of them then began to walk home. Tonight was some local holiday, one she admittedly didn't know all that much about. Something about a World Serpent? Anyway, it was a local thing that the Consul was holding a party for. She and her family, both due to her position and Castus' job as a secretary for the Consul, would be attending. They would go home, grab a quick bite, and Rainbow would give Vexillum some orders to fill out. Then, they would head back into the city to attend the party at a park by the seafront, called Battery Lane.

The two of them trotted along, smiling. Rainbow got the occasional greeting from the locals, or from her soldiers while they were out on patrol. As school was letting out and some of the shorter work hours were drawing to a close, the streets had a decent amount of Pryhan citizens out. Some of the stalls were open, advertising Fish, Salt, Garum, Sea-shell jewelry, among other more traditional items like Clay pots, Olives, Figs, and small household items.

As they made their way through the streets, she suddenly heard behind her a loud *Zip*. Thinking maybe someone had dropped something, she merely shrugged and pressed on. Then, again, she heard that same noise: *Zip*, this time much closer. This time she turned her head around but saw nothing except the usual hustle and bustle of Creui's streets.

"Mom, is everything alright?", Depressi asked, tugging on one of her pteryges.

Rainbow shook her head, then looked at her son. "N-no. I mean, yeah. Everything is fine." Her son didn't look all too convinced, but she knew a good way to distract him. "Tell you what. Race you back to the Praetorium. The last one there gets to clean out the latrine by the side of the house."

It was officially Castus' job to do it as part of the rotary cycle of chores the two of them did. However, her son was recently added to the cycle and had started to do a few small jobs. With the risk of the smelly, dirty job, he flared his wings, saying, "Ready."

"On your mark", she said, her own wings spreading out.

"Ok", he said, grinning widely. "Bye!" And with that, he was a small brown, blue, and rainbow speck in the distance in a heartbeat.

"He really does take after me," she muttered to herself. Then, what he just did caught up to her, as well as the fact he had a lead. She yelled, "No fair", and took off after him.

Next Chapter: Interlude~Party crashers Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 52 Minutes